Dr Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist on the unexpected benefits of sleeping with an eye mask

Want to wake up more mentally prepared for the day without needing to have more sleep?   A new study out this week shows that the simple act of wear an eye mask at night can boost your both your cognitive skills and reaction time as well as help you to wake up more refreshed.  The research published in the journal Sleep  carried out two experiments.  In the first experiment, 89 adults were asked to wear an eye mask while sleeping for a week, before going without it, or wearing an eye mask with holes (to factor in any effects from the discomfort of wearing a mask) the week after.  Tests carried out on the volunteers on the last two days of each week showed they performed better on recall tests and had faster reaction times when they slept with their eyes covered.  In the second experiment, 33 adults were equipped with eye masks, devices to measure the light intensity on waking, and a wearable headband to measure brain activity while they slept.  Again, the results showed that wearing an eye mask helps with learning new information and forming fresh memories.  Data provided by the headband suggests there is an association between mask wearing and more deep or slow-wave sleep time.  The eye mask didn’t affect sleep time duration or timing, so if you want to boost your brain without needing to go to bed any earlier – invest in an eye mask.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.